Ice crews work on the sheets for the 2013 Brier at Rexall Place in Edmonton on Feb. 26, 2013. (PERRY MAH/QMI Agency)

Edmonton 2013, The Brier, begins Saturday amid the pomp and circumstance that only the "City of Champions" can provide. Edmonton Briers are epic curling events with a buzz that few curling cities and towns can match, and this year's nine-day event should be a barn-burner.

Last week's Canadian women's championship clearly showed a huge gap between a small handful of teams and everyone else.